I have a selling account, had it for 20 years, ..eBay now want Photo ID?

[j-r-hartley]

Had an selling account for 20 years (this isnt it) I'm a UK seller,  haven't sold a great deal, feedback is still under 1000,  last year after about a year of not using the account I started to sell again, not a lot but eBay first treated me like I hadn't been a member for 20 years and insisted on holding some of the sales (low value s/h items) until I confirmed my bank account (which i'd done a couple of years prior). they wanted to send me a certain amount and I was to confirm etc, they also restricted the value of the items I could sell so I had to ask them via live chat to up the limits or a car I was selling would not list etc, in the end after a few sales things seemed to correct themselves and I was paid straight away for items>

Roll on to may 2024, I've sold a few items over the months, in the last 2 weeks i've sold an item at £225 and one at £125, both collection only, both items have had no problems and i have a couple more items listed. Not electrical goods or high value items etc.  just normal stuff, some new and unused, most second hand and used etc

So today I logged on, I get a pop up stating they wanted me to ID myself, this would be in the form of a driving licence, passport or govt ID...and oh by the way any transactions are held until I comply?   

I don't sell high value / high risk items, I have 100% feedback,  I've had zero returns , my bank account is verified, they have my email address (verified with them some time ago, they send me emails re items listed or sold, email has notnot changed) they send me texts to my phone re delivery notices if i've bought something to collect, my physical address has not changed in all the time i've had the selling account.

and now they want the ID from me, no warning, no time schedule to complete but simply comply and until I do any funds are to be held over.

Furthermore, they want the ID but don't actually tell me where it will be stored, who will have access to it and such like all of which seems very wrong.

Anyone else had this?

[myriad*seller]

It is anti money-laundering checks required by law 

eBay have to carry them out by law once  a certain value of sales passes through your account

It's not personal and everyone goes through it once they sell over X amount 

[j-r-hartley]

Not sure i'd agree with that, two other sellers and onces who sell significantly more than what I have, both private sellers and neither of them have had any requests for data

[*vyolla*]

I had to supply the same, some form of photographic ID. I've no idea if this information is stored once it's been used for verification though. 

[potters_uk]

Or even sold, which oens us up to id theft-

[marco@ebay]

Hi j-r-hartley, thanks for your post.

While I understand this might not be ideal for you, this is a process that all sellers have to complete at some stage to sell on eBay. The reason why we asked for this information is due to be in compliance with applicable laws and regulations such as anti-money laundering and sanctions screening obligations, allowing us to manage settlements of your transaction proceeds, and assessing fraud and risk, and also to ensure a safe and secure marketplace.

If you wish further information on this, you can visit our help pages here, or our user privacy notice here.

Thank you,

Marco

[lymor70]

Had an email requesting this info . However account is in joint names. This goes back to when payments were done through eBay rather than PayPal and husband and I had joint bank account . Can't upload joint id as we don't have any. 
any advice

[abercrombie-antiques-art-design]

eBay will ask for information from time to time of every seller that proves they are who they say they are. Its not personal & no one who is not hiding who they are should not have an issue supplying it. Of course some people will dislike being asked but to be honest tough. I want to buy from trusted sellers & know my money is safe. This is how eBay ensure I am safe. If you don't want to supply it then you do not have to but you won't be able to sell. 

[4_bathrooms]

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@lymor70 wrote:

Had an email requesting this info . However account is in joint names. 

---

This page will show who your eBay account is registered to. Are you referring to this account or a different one?

[slotz-53]

Yes !...I totally adree with you !

I have got that notice today as well.

Billions get laundered globally, but they're after average "Joe" that sells menial amounts. Giving them your Passport, Diver's License or SSN is just a recipe for Identity Theft ! I was told NEVER give ANY of that out unless it's your employer, government or for proof of identity for status. Because I am not a US citizen they're asking randomly International sellers.....I am positive if the tables were turned there would be a huge uproar. 

Also, how is selling used low dollar items catagorized as "money laundering"??

I will be contacting ebay persoanlly after this post and it will end one of two ways....one of which I will close my account.

[catmilltech]

Ebay have brought this on themselves by wanting to handle the payment. In the good old days it was a simple PAYPAL transaction between buyer and seller , Ebay had nothing to do with it, it was up to buyer and seller to determine if each other was legit. Ebay just want their claws into everything, totally self inflicted i'm afraid. 

Most worrying is we don;t know what they are doing with the data. They say it is shared with third parties but no details are given. Not good !!

[Anonymous]

Thank you for that info, usful to know if or when it may happen to me. All seems fair enough and straight forward.

[slotz-53]

Anybody that gives out that personal information to a VENDOR(ebay), has to
a fool!

[catmilltech]

They have £700 of mine which they wil not release. Complete blackmail. They have never bothered before as they had no money of mine as I've not  sold anthing for a while.  Now they have it they use it as leverage.........disgusting  tactics!!!

[89indyta]

I would like buyers to supply this information also. Might stop the use of stolen credit cards.

[pokemon_charizard_2022]

you would of had to do the same thing with paypal, they are bound by the same laws

[theelench]

I've had my PP account since I started selling on ebay in '12.  I still use it for buying here and selling on another platform and have never been asked for photo-I.D.

This sudden increase in ebay trying to get photos of all sellers is more to do with the recently introduced "Wallet / Balance" with ebay again trying to hoover up more personal data.

What is disgraceful is that accompaying this push is the accompanying increase in posts about ebay holding money hostage until the photo of their choice is handed -over and that ebay has done nothing to smooth the process since their last attempt.

Still sellers are being subjected to lengthy Holds because they don't have a Passport or Photo Driving Licence.  Ebay rejecting valid documents because they are "Not Good Enough".  Not making it clear that there are ways of completing verification with other documents that don't have a photo and just to make it even more inconvenient, sending numerous cases to the US back office to be examined by people who know nothing much about UK documentation, adding further delays.

In other words ebay has learned nothing since it introduced MP.  This should by now be a smooth 10 minute process, not something that can get strung-out over weeks or months.

[fear-is-the-mind-ki11er]

anti-money laundering next you be saying for our safety  been with bay 20 year no problem is that not enough

[theelench]

It might help those who, after many years of selling on ebay, could see some consistency in ebay's approach to being

"...in compliance with applicable laws and regulations such as anti-money laundering and sanctions screening obligations, allowing us to manage settlements of your transaction proceeds, and assessing fraud and risk, and also to ensure a safe and secure market place."

Just on this thread there are sellers complaining that they have had their settlements managed, been assessed as not being any threat of fraud or risk and have  maintained a safe and secure marketplace for many years without the need for ebay holding photo I.D until now, when they have proceeds that ebay can Hold.

They, and everyone else can also see thousands of businesses operating on private accounts and denying buyers their statutory rights.  Surely a far more obvious risk of fraud and to a safe and secure market place than private sellers selling a few second hand cast-offs??  But which ebay does very little to prevent?

It might also help to allay seller's fears if ebay were more forthcoming about how long photo I.D (along with all the other personal data ebay collects) is held on record.  Who holds it and where it is stored.  Who has access to such info. and for what purposes.

You say this is for ebay's safety and security.  What about OUR safety and security ?  Ebay already has enough personal info. to be a risk of I.D theft.  Again ebay is pushing to add photo I.D and will soon also be asking for private sellers NINO's.  It's all far too one-sided IMO.

[leadhills_scot]

No different to elsewhere. Amazon require photo ID, letter from HMRC, utility bill and either passport of drivers licence. Banks require photo ID so I really don't think ebay is any different. Don't forget in England you need ID just to vote.